Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

These teachers pay a higher percentage of their income in federal taxes than many, many billionaires and millionaires. I mean, Warren Buffett is a guy who pointed this out all the time. The secretary paid a higher percentage of taxes than he did. And I think that is that that's true. And it's a problem. And we got to fix it. They're doing the opposite thing here.

They're making this situation worse.

They're making this situation worse.

They're making this situation worse.

No, and a lot of envy, I think, among these billionaires. I mean, we have a whole different class of billionaires now. It used to be if you were worth a billion or two or three, you were incredibly wealthy. Now we have folks that are worth 50, 60, 100, $150 billion and more. I mean, Elon Musk is somewhere north of that. I don't keep track of how rich the guy is.

No, and a lot of envy, I think, among these billionaires. I mean, we have a whole different class of billionaires now. It used to be if you were worth a billion or two or three, you were incredibly wealthy. Now we have folks that are worth 50, 60, 100, $150 billion and more. I mean, Elon Musk is somewhere north of that. I don't keep track of how rich the guy is.

No, and a lot of envy, I think, among these billionaires. I mean, we have a whole different class of billionaires now. It used to be if you were worth a billion or two or three, you were incredibly wealthy. Now we have folks that are worth 50, 60, 100, $150 billion and more. I mean, Elon Musk is somewhere north of that. I don't keep track of how rich the guy is.

Or Zuckerberg or others are just so incredibly wealthy that I think there's a lot of envy from the poorer billionaires. The reality of the situation is that the wealth has moved from, you know, predominantly the people around the middle income in our country used to own an enormous amount of wealth collectively.

Or Zuckerberg or others are just so incredibly wealthy that I think there's a lot of envy from the poorer billionaires. The reality of the situation is that the wealth has moved from, you know, predominantly the people around the middle income in our country used to own an enormous amount of wealth collectively.

Or Zuckerberg or others are just so incredibly wealthy that I think there's a lot of envy from the poorer billionaires. The reality of the situation is that the wealth has moved from, you know, predominantly the people around the middle income in our country used to own an enormous amount of wealth collectively.

And a lot of that wealth has been transferred to the people in the top point one percent. It's not sustainable. It means the buying power of people in the middle has gone down dramatically. These are folks that are having to deal with rising costs. Billionaires don't have to deal with the price of groceries going up or housing. It doesn't matter to them. This trend is unsustainable.

And a lot of that wealth has been transferred to the people in the top point one percent. It's not sustainable. It means the buying power of people in the middle has gone down dramatically. These are folks that are having to deal with rising costs. Billionaires don't have to deal with the price of groceries going up or housing. It doesn't matter to them. This trend is unsustainable.

And a lot of that wealth has been transferred to the people in the top point one percent. It's not sustainable. It means the buying power of people in the middle has gone down dramatically. These are folks that are having to deal with rising costs. Billionaires don't have to deal with the price of groceries going up or housing. It doesn't matter to them. This trend is unsustainable.

Billionaires can pay more in taxes. They can do it right now. And then we don't have to kick kids off of their health care. And we can continue to give them, you know, free lunch in school when they can't afford to bring lunch money. So that's what we're talking about here. It's taking money away.

Billionaires can pay more in taxes. They can do it right now. And then we don't have to kick kids off of their health care. And we can continue to give them, you know, free lunch in school when they can't afford to bring lunch money. So that's what we're talking about here. It's taking money away.

Billionaires can pay more in taxes. They can do it right now. And then we don't have to kick kids off of their health care. And we can continue to give them, you know, free lunch in school when they can't afford to bring lunch money. So that's what we're talking about here. It's taking money away.

I mean, physically taking money from the people that can least afford it and putting it in the pockets of the wealthiest Americans. And that's just not right.

I mean, physically taking money from the people that can least afford it and putting it in the pockets of the wealthiest Americans. And that's just not right.

I mean, physically taking money from the people that can least afford it and putting it in the pockets of the wealthiest Americans. And that's just not right.

You're right, Ben. The big problem is China is going to step into this vacuum, a place where we were the most ethical. We were the leaders of the free world. We helped other countries when they were in need. It didn't cost us a tremendous amount of money. We fed starving kids on the other side of the planet just because they were starving.